APLU Announces 2017 Malone International Leadership Award Recipient

Washington, DC – The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) today announced that Dr. Lance Matheson, professor of business information technology at Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business, is the 2017 recipient of the Michael P. Malone International Leadership Award for his career-long commitment to internationalizing business education. The Malone Award, a national honor sponsored by APLU and awarded annually, recognizes individuals who advance international education at public universities.

Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Matheson has worked to expand international education opportunities for students in Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business. He has been actively engaged in international education since 1998 and led his first study abroad program to Europe in 2000. Since then, he has conducted 24 study abroad programs and assumed leadership of the Pamplin College of Business’s Fall Semester in Europe program. Building on his work in Europe, he has also led service learning programs in the Dominican Republic and Belize.

“Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business strives to educate students as agents of global sustainable prosperity and of global community economic empowerment,” said Pamplin College of Business Dean Dr. Robert Sumichrast. “Embracing Virginia Tech’s land-grant mission and vision for being a global land-grant university, we do so through programs that promote ethical leadership, social responsibility, innovation and entrepreneurship, and global engagement. We are honored by APLU’s recognition of Dr. Matheson’s life-long commitment to engaging students in meaningful, experiential global learning and to advancing international education at Virginia Tech. He serves as a model for the embodiment of our institutional values.”

Matheson’s international work extends well beyond study abroad programs. He has taught in India for Virginia Tech’s MIT-India Program. In 2008, he served on a United States Agency for International Development grant to select Haitian students to attend Virginia Tech and foster closer ties with a Haitian University. And he worked on the U.S. Department Defense’s Task Force for Stabilization Operations in Iraq, where he worked alongside Iraqi scholars in developing proposals for academic cooperation.

“Dr. Matheson’s career stands as model for scholars striving to drive change not just at their own institution, but at universities across the globe,” said APLU President Peter McPherson. “His work to deepen academic and cultural connections across institutions and countries has ensured thousands of students have gained key international experience.”

APLU’s Office of International Programs leads the association’s diverse array of international initiatives. These initiatives help support campus internationalization, enhance and expand study abroad opportunities, strengthen engagement with the developing world, and support members’ efforts to engage with partners worldwide to address global challenges.

The Malone Award honors the legacy of the late Michael P. Malone, a champion of international education and one-time chair of the APLU Commission on International Education. Malone served as president of Montana State University from 1991 until his death in 1999.